Big Sales Increase for i in Scotland

The 'bite-size' version of the Independent newspaper, the i, has enjoyed a sales increase in Scotland of almost 150 per cent between January last year and last month.

According to the latest set of figures issued by the Audit Bureau of Circulation, the paper sold an average 14,177 copies last month, some 147 per cent up on the average 5,740 it sold twelve months previously.

The i was launched in October 2010, but this is the first time year-on-year figures are available for sales in Scotland.

However, it will be interesting to see what the next set of ABCs reveal since the paper only really went Scotland-wide in mid-February last year.

While the figures below show, for dailies, quite substantial year-on-year drops in sales in Scotland, for several newspapers, there is the consolation of their average last month being better than their average for the month before that.

The daily figures – issued at midday – concern sales in Scotland between January 2011 and last month and reveal the following:

Daily Mirror – 6.5 per cent drop = from 24,197 on average in January 2011, to 22,609 last month;

Daily Record – 9.9 per drop = from 294,009 on average in January 2011, to 264,737 last month;

Daily Star of Scotland – 12.3 per cent drop = 70,603 to 61,932;

The Scottish Sun – 6.1 per cent drop = 340,666 to 319,864;

Scottish Daily Express – 10.7 per cent drop = 68,303 to 60,986;

Scottish Daily Mail – 4.5 per cent drop = 115,169 to 109,933;

Daily Telegraph – 6.8 per cent drop = 20,816 to 19,446;

Financial Times – 16.1 per cent drop = 3,925 to 3,292;

The Herald – 10.7 per cent drop = 51,935 to 46,328;

The Guardian – 11.7 per cent drop = 14,135 to 12,477;

i – 147 per cent up = 5,740 to 14,177;

Independent – 19.9 per cent drop = 7,769 to 6,225;

The Scotsman – 8.4 per cent drop = 42,431 to 38,844; and

The Times – 9.8 per cent drop = 20,906 to 18,842.

Meanwhile, the Sunday titles' sales figures in Scotland continued to be a more mixed bag: